Info about SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream:

Official game description:
Deluxe Edition
==============
The Deluxe Edition includes:  
• SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream  
• Character Pass Vol.1  
\- A moment in Infinity  
\- The Devil's Comeback  
\- Character Pass Vol. 1 Bonus: Bonus Stamp Set  
• Prism Heart Costume Set
Premium Edition
===============
The Premium Edition includes:  
• SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream  
• Character Pass Vol.1  
\- A moment in Infinity  
\- The Devil's Comeback  
\- Character Pass Vol. 1 Bonus: Bonus Stamp Set  
• Prism Heart Costume Set  
• Digital Artbook & Soundtrack App  
• Wild Joker Dress
About the Game
==============
SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream is an exciting new start as we depart from the 10th anniversary of the SWORD ART ONLINE game series!  
Galaxia, a new system allowing players to relive the past, has been added to ALfheim Online; however, Galaxia spins out of control causing players from all over time and space to be displaced! To set the timeline back on track, Kirito must work with fallen friends...and foes.  
Each with their own specific role on the battlefield, 21 SAO characters from various arcs are gathered to fight. Team up with a total of 20 players from around the world in 1 of 5 parties comprised of 4 players each for multiplayer co-op action!  
True to the SWORD ART ONLINE series, join a raid party and prepare for a fight with high difficulty bosses together! How you prepare for the fight is the key to victory!

Release date: 3 Oct, 2024

Categories: Cooperative Multiplayer, Real-time Combat, Character Customization, Character Progression, Character-based Combat, Boss Rush, Action RPG, Third-Person Shooter


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Engaging story, great character interactions (weight 0.66): The game features an engaging story with well-developed characters and interactions, especially appealing to fans of the Sword Art Online series. Many reviewers consider this installment to be one of the best SAO games to date, successfully capturing the essence of the anime and improving upon previous entries.
- Engaging, strategic multiplayer experience (weight 0.31): Multiplayer is a major highlight, offering engaging co-op quests, boss raids, and large-scale battles with up to 20 players. The game emphasizes teamwork and strategy, providing both casual and challenging experiences, and cross-platform play enhances accessibility.
- Diverse characters, fluid combat (weight 0.26): The game offers a diverse roster of playable characters, each with unique skills, playstyles, and customization options. The combat system is fluid and fast-paced, rewarding strategic play and providing a satisfying sense of progression.
- Enjoyable, grind-heavy gameplay loop (weight 0.16): The game offers an enjoyable grind for players who appreciate repetitive tasks and long-term progression.  Reviewers note that the game is fun to play and a good way to pass the time, especially for those who enjoy the Sword Art Online universe.
- Improved graphics and performance (weight 0.14): Reviewers consistently note significant improvements in graphics, animations, and overall performance compared to previous installments. The game world is beautifully crafted, and the combat feels smoother and more responsive.
- Extensive, rewarding character customization (weight 0.08): The game offers extensive character customization options with a wide variety of costumes and accessories. These cosmetics can be obtained through gameplay, without relying on gacha mechanics, providing a rewarding sense of progression and personalization.
- Faithful anime adaptation (weight 0.05): The game is praised for its faithfulness to the anime, featuring iconic characters, familiar storylines, and interactions that fans will appreciate. The single-player mode offers a surprisingly engaging experience, even for those with mixed feelings about the SAO franchise.
- Combines SAO universes, fan service (weight 0.04): The game combines the universes of SAO and brings together characters that players would never imagine seeing together, cooperating to defeat a common enemy. The game is great for fans of both Sword Art Online and Warriors games.
- Unique character interactions, variety (weight 0.04): The game offers unique interactions between characters not seen in the original source material, providing a fresh and enjoyable experience. The variety of characters and their distinct playstyles keeps the gameplay interesting and allows players to use any character they want.
- Fast matchmaking, smooth online (weight 0.04): The game features fast matchmaking and smooth online play, with full servers and minimal lag. The multiplayer content is surprisingly fun, even without friends, and the reviewer appreciates the ability to play with more people on a large scale.
- Similar to Fatal Bullet, improved (weight 0.03): The game shares similarities with Fatal Bullet, with gun-based characters having satisfying hit feedback and aim assist. The game improves upon the mechanics that worked well in Fatal Bullet, making ranged combat more enjoyable.
- Fun, casual, good time-waster (weight 0.03): The game is fun to play and a good way to kill time, especially with friends. The game has intuitive controls and provides a good escape, allowing players to forget about daily troubles as time passes quickly.
- Free battle pass, cosmetic rewards (weight 0.03): The game offers a free battle pass system where players can earn tickets to exchange for skins by completing daily and weekly tasks. There are no pay-to-win elements, and purchases are limited to skins and cosmetics.
- Fun combat, satisfying progression (weight 0.02): The combat is fun and satisfying, especially when playing with friends. The ranged combat feels great, and the team mechanics and raids are enjoyable.
- Potential for future improvement (weight 0.02): The developers seem to be trying to improve the game, and the reviewer finds the game fun to play, despite the issues. The game has a very good future if the developers do things well.

Common complaints:
- Clunky combat; poor controls (weight 0.95): The game's combat is frequently described as clunky, stiff, and unresponsive, with wonky hitboxes and animation locks.  The camera system is also problematic, leading to frustration and hindering gameplay.  Boss attack indicators are unreliable, and enemies have super armor, making combat feel unfair.
- Lacks content; repetitive grind (weight 0.83): Reviewers consistently mention a lack of content, repetitive gameplay loops, and excessive grinding.  The game quickly becomes boring, with players continuously running the same maps and fighting the same enemies. This is exacerbated by a poor reward system and limited character progression.
- Overpriced; predatory monetization (weight 0.81): Many reviewers feel the game is overpriced for the content it offers, especially considering the presence of microtransactions and DLC. Some suggest it should be free-to-play or cost significantly less. The game's monetization practices are seen as predatory and a 'cash grab'.
- Low player population; "dying village" (weight 0.76): The game suffers from a dwindling player base, leading to empty lobbies, long matchmaking times, and reliance on bots. Some players are forced to switch to Asian servers to find matches, which introduces lag. The game feels like a 'dying village' and is considered 'dead' by many reviewers.
- Frequent crashes; disconnections (weight 0.69): The game suffers from frequent crashes and disconnections, leading to lost progress and frustration.  Some players have been penalized for disconnecting, even when caused by game crashes.  Server stability is a major issue, especially during peak hours.
- Empty, repetitive free roam (weight 0.66): Free roam mode is criticized for being empty, repetitive, and unbalanced.  The maps are large but lack sufficient enemies and interactive elements.  Rewards from free roam are often not worth the time investment.
- Extremely low drop rates (weight 0.26): The game features extremely low drop rates for valuable items and cosmetics, making progression feel slow and unrewarding.  This forces players into excessive grinding, which many find tedious and frustrating.  The RNG nature of item stats further exacerbates the issue.
- Mediocre, uninspired story (weight 0.19): The story is often described as mediocre, generic, and uninspired, with excessive dialogue and a confusing plot. Some reviewers found the story boring and skippable. The story mode is also criticized for being too short and for forcing players to use specific characters.
- Disappointing SAO installment (weight 0.11): Some reviewers feel the game is a disappointing addition to the Sword Art Online series, failing to live up to the standards of previous titles.  The game is seen as a cash grab that relies too heavily on the SAO IP and doesn't offer a true MMORPG experience.
- Forced online; no offline mode (weight 0.1): The game's online-only nature restricts access to major content for solo players and requires a constant internet connection, even for single-player content. This raises concerns about the game's longevity if the official servers are shut down.

Gameplay feedback:
- Shallow combat, limited skill customization (weight 0.21): While combat is functional and enjoyable for some, it lacks depth and complexity.  Characters have a limited set of fixed skills, leading to repetitive combat patterns and a lack of customization.  Some players may find the combat monotonous due to long periods of auto-attacking.
- Diverse character roster, varied playstyles (weight 0.2): The game features a large roster of playable characters, each with unique abilities, playstyles, and roles. This variety allows players to experiment and find characters that suit their preferences, but mastering all characters can be overwhelming.
- Focus on large-scale online co-op (weight 0.07): The game heavily emphasizes online co-op gameplay, supporting up to 20 players in raids and quests.  While this can be a fun and engaging experience, some players may find the focus on multiplayer limiting, especially with mechanics that encourage competition for rewards.
- Battle pass and cosmetic customization (weight 0.06): The game includes a battle pass system and cosmetic customization options, such as skins and emotes.  These features allow players to personalize their characters and earn rewards, but some may find the emphasis on cosmetics distracting or indicative of a free-to-play model.
- Competitive elements in co-op (weight 0.06): Multiplayer modes often involve competition for limited resources and MVP status, creating a party vs party dynamic within co-op. This can lead to players focusing on individual performance rather than teamwork.
- Similar to other popular games (weight 0.05): The game borrows elements from other popular games such as Monster Hunter, God Eater, PSO2, Fatal Bullet and Granblue Fantasy Relink. This may appeal to fans of those games, but some may find the game lacks originality.
- Level-based structure, linear progression (weight 0.04): The game features a level-based structure with story progression required to unlock characters and content. This linear progression may appeal to some players, but others may find it restrictive compared to open-world games.
- Variety of multiplayer modes (weight 0.04): The game offers various multiplayer modes, including free roam, boss raids, and co-op quests. Free roam allows for casual exploration and resource gathering, while other modes focus on structured objectives and team-based combat.
- Temporary Awakening Level system (weight 0.02): The game features an Awakening Level system that resets each quest, limiting gear power and requiring players to grind for temporary stat boosts. This system adds an extra layer of progression but can also feel like a chore.

Performance notes:
- Generally smooth online performance (weight 0.09): Many players report smooth online multiplayer performance, even in large-scale battles and across different regions. Some reviewers specifically noted stable connections and low lag on Asia servers. However, a minority of players experienced lag, disconnects, or frame rate drops, particularly during intense action.
- Good PC performance overall (weight 0.06): The game generally runs well on PC, including the Steam Deck, with many players reporting smooth performance and good optimization. Some players running the game on older PCs or the Steam Deck reported a positive experience. However, a few reviewers noted that the game can be demanding on high-end hardware.
- Optimization issues and frame drops (weight 0.06): Some players report poor optimization, unstable frame rates, and stuttering, even on high-end PCs. Issues are exacerbated by certain graphics settings like TAA and areas with dense foliage. The game also lacks support for DLSS and ultrawide resolutions.
- Inconsistent graphics quality opinions (weight 0.03): There are mixed opinions on the game's graphics, with some considering them acceptable or good, while others find them outdated and comparable to older console generations or mobile games. This suggests a lack of visual fidelity compared to modern titles.
- Camera system is janky (weight 0.01): Some players find the camera system to be clunky, especially with auto-targeting. This can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences and difficulty controlling the character's perspective.
- Minor bugs present (weight 0.01): Some players have reported minor bugs that need fine-tuning. These bugs are not considered serious, but they can still detract from the overall gameplay experience.

Recommendations:
- Primarily for SAO fans (weight 0.43): The game's appeal is heavily tied to the Sword Art Online franchise.  Reviewers frequently recommend it to dedicated SAO fans who enjoy the characters and story, but caution that those unfamiliar with the series may find it confusing or boring. Some reviewers suggest that positive reviews may be biased by SAO fandom.
- Fun co-op, large raids (weight 0.07): Some reviewers praise the game's enjoyable co-op gameplay, large-scale raids, and sense of community. They recommend it for players who enjoy collaborative multiplayer experiences and dungeon-raid gameplay loops.
- Potential for improvement (weight 0.05): Some reviewers acknowledge the game's potential and express hope for future updates and improvements. They look forward to new characters, gear, missions, and control refinements, suggesting the game is still evolving and could improve over time.
- Inferior to Granblue Relink (weight 0.04): Many reviewers directly compare the game unfavorably to Granblue Fantasy Relink, citing Relink's superior content, polish, and overall quality. They recommend Granblue Fantasy Relink as a better alternative in the same genre, especially for those seeking a more complete action RPG experience.
- Positive overall rating (weight 0.02): Some reviewers provide numerical scores or express overall positive sentiments, describing the game as great or worth trying. However, these points lack specific details and constructive feedback.
- Personal opinions on SAO (weight 0.02): These points consist primarily of personal opinions, emotional reactions, and cultural references related to the Sword Art Online series. They do not provide specific feedback on the game's mechanics or features.
- Specific gameplay elements (weight 0.01): These points focus on specific, isolated aspects of the game, such as the "Extreme Raid" mode or initial gameplay impressions. They lack broader context and do not represent widespread opinions.
- Niche gameplay issues (weight 0.01): These points address niche issues, such as the conflict between co-op and competitive gameplay or specific map problems. They do not represent widespread concerns or provide broad feedback on the game.

Other player notes:
- Requires prior SAO knowledge (weight 0.09): The game heavily relies on existing knowledge of the Sword Art Online anime and previous games. While enjoyable for fans due to character interactions and references, newcomers may find the story confusing. Some reviewers feel it's primarily aimed at fans and may not be as engaging for those unfamiliar with the franchise.
- Cosmetics with some P2W (weight 0.05): The game offers a variety of cosmetic options, including skins and accessories, obtainable through gameplay or in-game purchases. While most costumes are gender-neutral and don't affect stats, some alter ultimate animations, raising concerns about potential pay-to-win elements if future costumes offer significant advantages.
- Live service concerns (weight 0.02): The game is designed as a live service, which may be a concern for some players. The game requires an online connection and focuses on multiplayer modes, raising concerns about its long-term viability if the servers are shut down. There is an offline mode, but it is not the primary focus.
- Crossplay, low EU population (weight 0.02): The game features crossplay functionality, which is helpful for finding matches. However, the European multiplayer scene is sparsely populated, requiring players to switch to Asian servers to find matches without bots. The netcode is generally good, with no major latency issues when playing in Asia with crossplay enabled.
- Reviewer background (weight 0.02): This cluster contains general statements about the reviewer's experience with the game and the Sword Art Online franchise. It does not provide specific feedback or actionable insights about the game itself.
- High price, cosmetic shop (weight 0.02): The game and its deluxe editions are considered expensive, especially in some countries. The game also has a shop for cosmetics, which some reviewers find inappropriate for a full-priced game. The game was released recently and is already on version 1.1.0 with DLC episodes.
- Hopes for future updates (weight 0.02): Reviewers express hope for future improvements and updates to the game. The game has a roadmap for future content additions, which is seen as promising. Some reviewers hope for future clan features and more content beyond just boss battles.
- Variety of modes and characters (weight 0.01): The game features a variety of modes, including a single-player campaign, free roam, alliance missions, and boss battles. There are currently 6 co-op quests, 5 Boss Raid quests, and 1 Roaming mode with 2 maps. The game features 21 characters, including both heroes and villains.
- Inconsistent DLC release timing (weight 0.01): There are inconsistencies and delays in DLC release timing between the PS and Steam versions, causing frustration for players due to cross-play compatibility. Additionally, there are discrepancies between the advertised content of the pre-order character pass and what is actually available in the game.
- Erotic costumes (weight 0.01): The level of eroticism in the costumes is moderate. Some costumes feature drawers instead of panties, suggesting a compromise with compliance. There are some erotic costumes.
- Conflicting reports on offline play (weight 0.01): There are conflicting reports about whether the game requires a mandatory internet connection. Some reviewers say it is always online, while others say it can be played offline without issues. This inconsistency may be due to different game modes or features requiring an internet connection.

Emotions:
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